Thursday Feb 13 TU B'Shevat News Updates Lakewood

 Weather: 49° Morning fog, rain  then cloudy this afternoon

- BDE: Petirah of Rav Dovid Shmuckler z”l. A Lakewood talmid from the early talmidim of Tav Shneur Kotler ZTL Levaya will take place l 10:30 AM Friday morning at the Lakewood Chapel off 7th st.

- Trump says a meeting between U.S., Russian and Ukrainian officials will take place in Saudi Arabia next week

- NYPD is making arrests at anti-ICE protests in New York City. This comes just hours after Tom Homan met with NYC Mayor Adams, who agreed to allow ICE to use Rikers Island to house illegals

RFK JR: "A lot of people told me I should not trust President Trump. And that I should get our agreement in writing. But we just had a handshake. And every single thing President Trump has promised me, he has done. He has done more than he said. I believe President Trump is a revolutionary President. We need a hero on a white horse, and President Trump is that hero."

- Central Avenue construction ro begin overnight on Feb 14. Last week erev Shabbos the traffic was backed up for 30 minutes due to construction.  Township officials have not spoken publicly about the constant construction and traffic.

- Bill to bring back plastic bags

 A new bill introduced today by New Jersey Assemblyman John Azzariti would repeal the state law prohibiting the sale or distribution of single-use plastic bags, polystyrene foam food service products, and single-use plastic straws.

- DOGE workers arrived at the IRS today. Do you expect to close the IRS?"

TRUMP: "I think the IRS will be looked at just like everybody else. Everyone will be looked at. They're doing a hell of a job. Elon is building a force of super geniuses. They go talk to the people about their deals and people get tongue tied, they can't even talk, because these people get it. They're very smart people. We need smart people."

- President Trump announces reciprocal tariffs for countries currently charging the United States."I have decided for purposes of fairness that I will charge a reciprocal tariff."

"We will charge them no more, no less. In other words, they charge us a tax or tariff, and we charge them the exact same tax or tariff. Very simple."

- Trump says Taiwan "took our chip business away, and we want that business back."

- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services. Senator McConnell was the only GOP member to oppose his confirmation, his third vote against Trump nominees (RFK Jr, Hegseth, and Gabbard).

- Mexico President, Claudia Sheinbaum, is reportedly considering taking legal action against Google for using the term “Gulf of America.”

- Lakewood girls high school entrance exam will be on Sunday March, 2. Schools will officially send out acceptance letters after Pesach.

 

- LPD Alert: Avoid the area of Pine St from Rt 9 to MLK Dr due to a sink hole. Expect delays.

- New Jersey Monthly electric bills will see increases that range from 17.23% for Atlantic City Electric customers to a 20.2% increase for Jersey Central Power & Light customers, the BPU said Wednesday. Jersey Central Power & Light bills  which services the Lakewood area will go up by $22.67, or 20.2%, to $134.92.

- DOGE: Looks like Radical Left Reuters was paid $9,000,000 by the Department of Defense to study “large scale social deception.” GIVE BACK THE MONEY, NOW!

- Trump: Great talks with Russia and Ukraine  yesterday.  Good possibility of ending that horrible, very bloody war!!

-VP JD Vance  departs Paris en route to Munich.Today he visits Dachau concentration camp

- An 11-year-old Jewish girl in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was assaulted when an unidentified individual pulled her hair and dragged her to the ground

Mishpacha magazine feature about Lev Tahor cult:  With 160 children extricated from Lev Tahor, will this grisly chapter finally beat its last?...

How did Lev Tahor stay under the radar until now? “They are very good at concealing their actions,” says Rabbi Shea Blum. “As much as we knew, we didn’t know enough. Now, the testimonies of those who came out of there, mostly minors who were compelled to ask for protection from the courts, have horrified the local authorities with their stories. One of the victims still bore the scars several years later of being beaten all over his body.” read here

-Jackson Township Councilman Giussepe Palmeri is calling on Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Education to intervene in the school funding crisis that has left the Jackson School District struggling with an $18 million budget deficit. He expressed outrage over the state’s decision to extend a $65 million loan to the Lakewood School District—bringing its total state loan debt to over $230 million—while Jackson faces severe financial shortfalls without similar aid.